The firebrand cleric even praised the terror gang as “decent young chaps”.

Choudary claimed he had no idea they planned to kill and maim.

He said: “We cannot be blamed.” But last night a Tory MP called for the preacher to be arrested.

Patrick Mercer said: “This is yet another nail in Anjem Choudary’s coffin. “No one can doubt his connections with active and highly dangerous terrorists who pleaded guilty to their crimes.”

The plotters, British citizens, last week pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism.

They admitted plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange in a “Mumbaistyle” blitz.

And the al-Qaida-inspired gang also planned attacks on the American Embassy and Houses of Parliament . The radical Islamists intended to send mail bombs to prominent targets including London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Ringleaders Chowdhury, 21, and Shah Rahman, 28, from London, were part of a nine-strong gang which included three from Cardiff and four from Stoke.

Police say the attacks would have been even more horrific than the commando style terror raids on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 people.

Undercover detectives followed Chowdhury and Rahman as they observed Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

But Choudary claimed the jailed plotters were merely “inquisitive” and their plans had been “taken out of context”.

The controversial East London-based cleric said: “From what I knew of these young chaps, they were very decent young men.

“Dedicated to Islam, they were students of Sharia and as far as I know they were not planning or plotting anything. They were very inquisitive so I am not surprised if they downloaded material but that does not mean they wanted to kill anyone or carry out any operations.”

The former leader of al Muhajiroun and Islam4UK groups – both banned in January 2010 – said that he viewed their activities as little more than “thought crimes”.

He said: “Certainly the ones in London and in Stoke were students of mine. They studied the Sharia with me and I knew them for quite a while.

“Number one, that does not mean they were members of any kind of organisation because not everyone who studies with us is part of the organisation.

“Number two, we are not aware of anything outside our own activities which is purely ideological and political struggle.”

He added: “We are very conspicuous. The police know what we say openly is what we say privately.

“And that’s why I have never been arrested for anything either plotting or planning anything. If they thought there was a link between these guys and me I’m sure I would have been picked up.”

The cleric, who once planned to parade through the former repatriation town of Wootton Bassett carrying empty coffins in protest at the war in Afghanistan, said that he talked about the “science of the Koran and Islamic jurisprudence” in his lectures.

He said: “I talk about how to derive rules from the divine texts, very technical and very academic, nothing to do with sending people abroad or engaging in military activities.

“At one point they used to study with me and attend some of our lectures. They used to attend some circles and occasionally they would attend some demonstrations and protests.

“But that does not mean they were part of any organisation. They were students, they were studying. “The same can be said of the people in Stoke.”

Choudary, 44, added: “At the end of the day many people download material and read things on the internet.

“I would not be surprised if that is taking place all over the country.

“People talk about things and they are young.

“Sometimes people talk about outrageous things but they would never have any intention of ever carrying anything out.

“Talking, discussing things, talking about what is going on is not something which should be illegal really. “It was an unfortunate fact that they were being followed and listened to.

“When you look at things out of context and put them before a jury they obviously look very incriminating.” A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is committed to tackling extremism whatever forms it takes.

“It condemns extremism in all its forms and those who seek to spread hatred.

“There is no place for violence or intimidation.”

Houriya Ahmed, of the think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said Choudary and other similar radical preachers provided “an ideological platform.”

And he added: “If these disgruntled individuals are sick and tired of just hearing talk they might think ‘Why not?’.”